Many players of stringed instruments such as banjos and guitars perform in a standing position and thus require additional means for supporting the instrument in a playing position. Such an instrument is almost universally provided with paired spaced anchor points so that it may be supported by a strap or sling mounted between the anchor points and extending over the player's shoulder and across his back. For definiteness, the remainder of the specification will make explicit reference to guitars, but it should be understood that the present invention relates to other instruments as well.
Broadly, a guitar comprises a body and an elongate neck extending therefrom. The neck carries a fingerboard over a major portion thereof, and includes a heel portion at a first end where it joins the body and a head portion at a second end remote from the body. The strings extend along the elongate neck, and are fastened to suitable supporting structure on the body at one end and to a suitable tuning mechanism on the head portion. The first of the two anchor points is located on the body generally in line with the neck on the side of the body opposite that where the neck joins on. Depending on the instrument, and to some extent upon user preferences, the second of the two anchor points may be located on the instrument body generally proximate the heel, or at a position proximate the head.
Individual players typically have preferred locations of the instrument body and orientations of the instrument neck in which they find it most comfortable to play. For example, a relatively high position of the instrument body makes the playing of high notes easier and more relaxing to the player's wrist. On the other hand, a low position may be more comfortable in other respects. Similarly, the angular orientation of the neck is subject to a wide range of player preferences.
However, the traditional method of supporting a guitar presents certain disadvantages which render its use less than ideal. For example, the traditional strap support requires the player to provide additional support to the instrument neck and to make constant readjustments of the instrument orientation. This tends to put additional strain on the fretting hand, and can interfere with proper fretting technique. Depending on the degree of player movement, the problem of slippage can be relatively acute. When the guitar is worn relatively high on the user's body in order to facilitate the playing of high notes, or relatively low to gain comfort in other respects, a greater tendency of the neck to drop is experienced. A further problem, typically encountered with electric stringed instruments of the solid body variety, is that the relatively large weight of the instrument exerts considerable pressure on the player's shoulder near his neck and thus tends to promote fatigue.
In spite of the above mentioned disadvantages, the type of strap arrangement described above has found almost universal use among guitar players, and the problems of strain on the shoulders and the need to use the fretting hand in a support role have been accepted as unavoidable.